Wear

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides wear which is rich in cushioning property, which prevents or reduces rubbing with a part of the body such as a foot or a hand to avoid the occurrence of a blister or inflammation, and which can be put on smoothly. In the wear, such as footwear including a shoe, shoe insole, slipper, and sandal, a sock, a glove and the like, having a portion to be in surface contact with the surface of the foot or the hand, a part or whole of the surface to be in contact with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand is covered with a cushioning member ( 11 ) made of non-sliding rubber or plastic, and a surface of the cushioning member ( 11 ) is further covered with a readily slidable net body ( 12 ) in such a way as to constitute a mesh structure.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to wear, such as footwear including a shoe, shoe insole, slipper, and sandal, a sock, a glove and the like, having a portion to be in surface contact with the surface of a foot or a hand.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, when a person walks, runs, or does exercise or sport while wearing footwear such as shoes, there would be rubbing at the portions where the foot and the footwear contact each other, causing blisters, inflammations, or other inconveniences on the feet. Further, impacts would be transmitted via the footwear to the feet or body, causing discomfort or fatigue.

In the case of socks, similarly, when a person walks, runs, or does exercise or sport with socks on, there would be rubbing between the feet and the socks, causing blisters or other inconveniences on the feet.

In the case of gloves, similarly, there would be rubbing between the palms or other portions of the hands and the gloves during work or the like, causing inflammations on the skin.

As a way of solving the above-described problems, conventionally, wear such as footwear, sock, etc. having a material that would hardly cause rubbing applied on the portion to be in contact with the sole of a foot or the palm of a hand have been proposed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H9-59804 (Patent Document 1) discloses a sock which has foamed urethane sponge (5) with cushioning property and anti-skid property sewn onto the inner surface at the heel (4) of the sock.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-37282 (Patent Document 2) discloses a sock which has a reinforcement member (2, 3) made of foamed polyurethane applied on the reverse side of the sock.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-130036 (Patent Document 3) discloses a shoe insole which has an insole body (2) provided with a plurality of through holes (21) on a part of the upper surface, and an anti-skid member (4) and a sheet-type biasing member (5) provided at the position beneath the opening of each through hole (21). In this shoe insole, when load is applied to the insole body (2), the upper surface of the anti-skid member (4) is raised via the biasing member (5) to the level higher than the upper surface of the insole body (2), so the anti-skid effect is exerted. On the other hand, when no load is applied, the anti-skid member (4) exerts no frictional force, so a person can smoothly put on and off the footwear.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-162149 (Patent Document 4) discloses a sock which has slip-stoppers applied on the underside surface and the inner surface at the foot sole portion of the sock body.

Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3109393 (Patent Document 5) discloses a sock which has an inner anti-skid surface portion (3i) and an outer anti-skid surface portion (3o) provided on the inner surface and the outer surface, respectively, of the sock body (2).

Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3174314 (Patent Document 6) discloses a shoe and a shoe insole which are provided with shock absorbers and anti-skid materials.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H9-59804

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-37282

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-130036

Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-162149

Patent Document 5: Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3109393

Patent Document 6: Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3174314

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

Those disclosed in Patent Documents 1, 2, and 4 to 6 above are each provided with an anti-skid material, making it possible to prevent the foot or the like from slipping. When the foot or the like is about to be inserted into the sock or the shoe, however, the presence of the anti-skid material will make it difficult to smoothly insert the foot into the sock or the shoe.

In the case of Patent Document 3 above, the anti-skid member (4) and the biasing member (5) ensure smooth insertion of the foot as well as anti-skid effect for the foot. However, while the biasing member (5) is a sheet member having cushioning property, in order to cause the anti-skid member (4) to project upward from beneath via the opening of the through hole (21), the sheet-type biasing member (5) is required to have a certain degree of hardness. This causes the following problems.

A. First, such a hard biasing member (5) cannot be applied over the entire surface of the shoe insole. If it is applied over the entire surface, the shoe insole itself is likely to become hard, leading to degradation in wearing comfort.

B. Second, with such large through holes (21), the sheet-type biasing member (5) is required to have an area of a certain size or larger. It is difficult to apply the member in a narrow, local position with precision.

C. Third, as the biasing member (5) is required to have a certain degree of hardness, as explained above, it is likely to lack the cushioning property. If such a biasing member (5) is adapted to a sock or the like, the sock will become rigid.

In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional techniques as described above by providing wear, such as footwear including a shoe, shoe insole, slipper, and sandal, a sock, a glove and the like, having a portion to be in surface contact with the surface of a foot or a hand, which is not only rich in cushioning property, but also is able to prevent or reduce rubbing with a part of the body such as a foot or a hand to thereby avoid the occurrence of a blister or inflammation, which enables a foot or a hand to be smoothly inserted into the shoe, sock, or glove, and which ensures that such functions can be finely disposed and exerted even in a narrow, local position.

Means for Solving the Problems

To accomplish the above object, wear according to the present invention is wear, such as footwear including a shoe, shoe insole, slipper, and sandal, a sock, a glove and the like, having a portion to be in surface contact with a surface of a foot or a hand, which has a first feature that a part or whole of the surface to be in contact with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand is covered with a cushioning member made of non-sliding rubber or plastic, and a surface of the non-sliding cushioning member is further covered with a readily slidable net body in such a way as to constitute a mesh structure.

The wear of the present invention has, in addition to the first feature described above, a second feature that not only the portion to be in contact with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand, a part or whole of an entire surface of the wear to be in contact with the foot or the hand is covered with a cushioning member made of non-sliding rubber or plastic, and a part or whole of the surface of the non-sliding cushioning member is further covered with a readily slidable net body in such a way as to constitute a mesh structure.

The wear of the present invention has, in addition to the first or second feature described above, a third feature that the non-sliding cushioning member is made of open-cell type foamed rubber or foamed plastic.

Effects of the Invention

According to the wear recited in claim 1, of the surface of the wear such as footwear including a shoe, shoe insole, slipper, and sandal, a sock, a glove and the like, a part or whole of the surface to be in contact with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand is covered with the cushioning member made of non-sliding rubber or plastic. Further, a part or whole of the surface of the non-sliding cushioning member is covered with the readily slidable net body so as to constitute the mesh structure.

With the non-sliding cushioning member being covered with the mesh structure of the readily slidable net body, when pressure such as the body weight is applied perpendicularly toward the cushioning member from above the net body, the cushioning member comes into direct contact with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand through the mesh openings of the net body to attain the surface contact state. As the non-sliding cushioning member is in surface contact with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand, the rubbing with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand is prevented. As a result, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of soreness caused by friction, blisters, or other inflammations on the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand because of repeated rubbing.

On the other hand, when the shoe, sock or the like is to be put on, pressure applied in the perpendicular direction by the foot or the like to the non-sliding cushioning member is relatively small. Therefore, the unfavorable situation where the foot sole or the like comes into contact with and is trapped by the non-sliding cushioning member is reduced; rather, the foot sole or the like is likely to slide on the upper surface of the readily slidable net body. As a result, it becomes easier to put on the shoe, sock or the like, despite the presence of the non-sliding cushioning member. In the case of the glove as well, for similar reasons, it becomes easier to put on the glove, the repeated rubbing against the palm of the hand during work or the like can be prevented, and the occurrence of blisters or other inflammations can be suppressed.

With the surface of the cushioning member being covered with the net body, even when the cushioning member elastically deforms, the net body follows the same, so the desired functions can be exerted.

Further, in the case of the configuration where the surface of the cushioning member is covered with the net body, the net body can readily be attached even in a local position, without impairing the flexibility of the sock or the glove.

According to the wear recited in claim 2, in addition to the functions and effects obtained by the configuration recited in claim 1 above, as a part or whole of the entire surface of the wear to be in contact with the foot or the hand, including the side surface and instep of the foot or the side surface and back of the hand, is covered with the cushioning member made of non-sliding rubber or plastic, and a part or whole of the surface of the non-sliding cushioning member is further covered with the readily slidable net body so as to constitute the mesh structure,

it is possible to avoid the occurrence of blisters or inflammations that would be otherwise caused on the portions of the foot or the hand rubbed against the wear, and it is also possible to ensure that it can be easily put on.

Further, according to the wear recited in claim 3, in addition to the functions and effects obtained by the configuration recited in claim 1 or 2 above, as the non-sliding cushioning member is made of open-cell type foamed rubber or foamed plastic,

the open cells ensure good air and moisture permeability and exert appropriate heat and moisture retaining effects, while hardly causing stuffiness.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sock according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inner bottom surface of the sock according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the sock according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 includes cross-sectional views of the sock according to the embodiment of the present invention, (A) illustrating the state where a foot is being inserted into the sock, (B) illustrating the state where the body weight is being applied after the foot has been inserted.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the inner bottom portion of a shoe according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a shoe insole according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring first to FIGS. 1 to 4, the configuration of a sock as a first embodiment of the wear of the present invention will be described.

The sock 10 shown in FIG. 1 has an inner bottom portion 10 a, shown by a broken line, which is covered with a non-sliding cushioning member 11, and a surface of the cushioning member 11 is further covered with a readily slidable net body 12 so as to constitute a mesh structure.

The inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10 is a portion that comes into surface contact with the foot sole (the sole of the foot) of a person. In the present embodiment, the entirety (entire surface) of the inner bottom surface 10 a is covered with the non-sliding cushioning member 11. The upper surface of the cushioning member 11 is entirely covered with the net body 12 in such a way as to form a mesh structure.

The non-sliding cushioning member 11 is provided for the purposes of preventing or reducing the rubbing between the sock and the foot F (see FIG. 4), thereby avoiding the occurrence of blisters or inflammations. Therefore, an inner side surface 10 b of the sock 10, coming into surface contact with the side surface of the foot F, may also be covered with a non-sliding cushioning member 11. Furthermore, an inner top surface 10 c of the sock 10, which comes into surface contact with the instep of the foot F, may also be covered with a non-sliding cushioning member 11.

Alternatively, in consideration of an effective function of the non-sliding cushioning member 11, the cushioning member 11 may be configured to cover, not the entirety of the inner bottom surface 10 a coming into contact with the sole of the foot F, but only a part where it is expected to be highly effective. Similarly, the cushioning member 11 may be configured to cover a part of the inner side surface 10 b and/or a part of the inner top surface 10 c.

The cushioning member 11 needs to be a material having cushioning property so as to be able to deform in correspondence with the flexibility of the sock 10 itself and also exert the function of alleviating the impact pressure that is applied to the foot F from the ground or the like.

On the other hand, the cushioning member 11 needs to be a material having excellent non-sliding property so as to exert the function of reducing the rubbing between the sock 10 and the foot F.

For the cushioning member 11 having such non-sliding property, non-sliding soft rubber, soft plastic, or other non-sliding cushioning material may be used. For the non-sliding cushioning member 11, soft foamed rubber or soft foamed plastic is further preferable.

Examples of the soft foamed rubber and the soft foamed plastic include open-cell type rubber sponge, open-cell type soft urethane foam, and soft foamed polyethylene.

The readily slidable net body 12 plays the role of eliminating the difficulties in putting on and off the sock that are caused by the non-sliding cushioning member 11 disposed on the inner surface of the sock 10.

First, in order to enable the sock 10 to maintain its own functions sufficiently, it is preferable that the net body 12 deforms flexibly in correspondence with the flexible movements of the cushioning member 11 and the sock 10. To this end, the net body 12 preferably has cushioning property (elasticity). A material suitable for use is a meshwork or woven good formed with elastic yarns, strings, or fibers. A meshwork provided with stretchability, such as a rubber mesh, may also be used. A punched material, such as an elastic sheet perforated to form a net-like structure, may be used as well.

The net body 12 preferably has elasticity; it may be an elastic mesh net body, an elastic woven net body, an elastic punched net body, or the like. Further, the net yarn 12 a for the net body 12 includes not only the “yarn” but also string and fiber, and even includes a mesh portion of the mesh sheet obtained by punching, for example.

It is necessary for the net yarn 12 a to have readily slidable property in itself. To this end, for the net yarn 12 a, plastic yarn or fiber excellent in sliding property, such as nylon, polyester, Tetoron (registered trademark) etc., can be used. In the case of using other yarn or fiber, its surface is preferably subjected to surface sliding treatment; for example, the surface may be coated with a material having favorable sliding property, although it is not limited thereto. Other than those described above, acrylic yarn, wool yarn, cotton yarn, hemp yarn, silk yarn, rayon yarn, cuprammonium rayon etc. may be used as a single yarn or as a yarn blended with another yarn.

The net body 12 does not necessarily have to have flexibility and elasticity, as long as it has sufficient sliding property. Particularly in the case where the underlying cushioning member 11 is provided at the inner bottom or insole of the shoe where flexibility is not so necessary, the net body 12 only needs to have flexibility of the same level. In such a case, a plastic plate, which does not have much flexibility but has good sliding property, with a large number of openings punched out to form a net shape may be used.

Further, the net body 12 is required to have a mesh structure with openings 12 b, such as mesh pattern, weave pattern, punched pattern or the like, because it is necessary to secure the situation where the non-sliding cushioning member 11 directly comes into surface contact with the foot F via the gaps between the net yarns 12 a of the net body 12.

Each opening 12 b may be of a triangular, rectangular, rhombic, polygonal, circular, or other shape. Such openings 12 b are distributed over the entire surface of the net body 12. Further, the area occupied by the openings 12 b is configured to be sufficiently larger than, or at least twice, the area occupied by the net yarns 12 a which are laid to surround the openings 12 b.

As the wide openings 12 b are distributed in this manner, when the load is applied, the contact between the cushioning member 11 and the sole of the foot via the openings 12 b can be made to be more reliable and stable.

However, if the area of the openings 12 b becomes excessively larger than the area of the net yarns 12 a, at the time of putting on the sock, there will be an adverse effect of the non-sliding cushioning member 11, making the sock less slidable and, hence, hard to put on. Therefore, the diameter (width) of the net yarn 12 a is set to be from 0.1 mm to 4.0 mm, and preferably from 0.2 mm to 2.0 mm. The area of the openings 12 b is set to be from 1.0 mm² to 400.0 mm², and preferably from 2.0 mm² to 250.0 mm².

As the net yarns 12 a are laid in the form of net body 12 surrounding the openings 12 b, when the foot F is put into the sock 10, the foot F easily slides on the net yarns 12 a, so it is very easy to put on the sock even in the presence of the non-sliding cushioning member 11.

Referring to FIG. 3, the net body 12 may be attached to the upper surface of the non-sliding cushioning member 11 to cover the same in advance. In this case, the cushioning member 11 with the net body 12 attached thereto in advance is then attached to the inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10. FIG. 3 shows the configuration in which the cushioning member 11 with the net body 12 attached thereto is laid on the inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10.

The net body 12 may be attached in a different manner. For example, the cushioning member 11 may be sewn to the inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10 in advance so that they are integrated in the stacked state, and the net body 12 may be applied to cover the stack. Then, the peripheral portions of the net body 12 protruding from the periphery of the cushioning member 11 may be sewn to the cloth of the sock 10 for attachment.

In the above description, for attaching the net body 12 to the cushioning member 11, for example as shown in FIG. 3, the net body 12 may be laid over the cushioning member 11, and may be stitched, as shown by 12 d, to the cushioning member 11 at each crossing point 12 c of the net yarns 12 a.

Although the stitching 12 d to the cushioning member 11 is preferably performed at each crossing point 12 c in the net body 12 for secure attachment, the stitching may be performed at crossing points 12 c on an intermittent basis.

It should be noted that the attachment of the net body 12 to the cushioning member 11 at the crossing points 12 c does not necessarily have to be done by stitching 12 d; other methods can be used. Similarly, the attachment of the peripheral portions of the net body 12 to the sock 10 does not necessarily have to be done by stitching.

Further, the covering of the base by the cushioning member 11 may be done, not only by stitching, but also by adhesion, thermocompression bonding, spraying or the like, although it is not limited thereto.

The functions of the sock 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4(A) shows the state where a foot F is being inserted into the sock 10. When the foot F is being inserted, no body weight has been applied to the foot. The readily slidable net body 12 and the non-sliding cushioning member 11 on the inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10 have not received large compression pressure between the sole of the foot F and the ground or the like. Therefore, the net body 12 is held on the upper surface of the cushioning member 11, without sinking, and maintained in the state where it is interposed between the sole of the foot F and the cushioning member 11 to thereby prevent the contact therebetween. As a result, the foot F which is inserted into the sock 10 and sliding on the inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10 is allowed to slide on the readily slidable net body 12, while the foot F hardly comes into contact with the non-sliding cushioning member 11. This allows a person to smoothly put on the sock 10.

FIG. 4(B) shows the state where a person is standing with the sock 10 on. In this state, the body weight is applied to the foot F, so the cushioning member 11 and the net body 12 receive compression pressure between the foot F and the ground or the like. Then, the net body 12 has its net yarns 12 a sunken into the cushioning member 11, and the non-sliding cushioning member 11 protrudes upward from the openings 12 b of the net body 12, coming into surface contact with the sole of the foot F. Accordingly, the sliding of the sole of the foot F is reliably stopped by the non-sliding cushioning member 11, so the slipping of the entire foot F is prevented. In this manner, blisters and other inflammations caused by rubbing between the surface of the foot F and the sock 10 are prevented.

In FIG. 4, the configuration where the combination of the cushioning member 11 and the net body 12 is used for the inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10 has been illustrated. Similar functions and effects can be obtained when the combination of the cushioning member 11 and the net body 12 is disposed on the inner side surface 10 b or the inner top surface 11 c of the sock 10. That is, the broken line in FIG. 4(A) indicates the example where the combination of the cushioning member 11 and the net body 12 is disposed on the inner side surface 10 b of the sock 10.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an inner bottom portion of a shoe as a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a non-sliding cushioning member 11 and a readily slidable net body 12 are arranged in combination on an inner bottom surface 20 a of the shoe 20. The configurations of the cushioning member 11 and the readily slidable net body 12 are identical to those described above in conjunction with the sock 10, so the description thereof will be omitted. The inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10 corresponds to the inner bottom surface 20 a of the shoe 20, the inner side surface 10 b of the sock 10 corresponds to an inner side surface 20 b of the shoe 20, and the inner top surface 10 c of the sock 10 corresponds to an inner top surface (not shown) of the shoe 20.

By arranging the combination of the non-sliding cushioning member 11 and the readily slidable net body 12 on the inner bottom surface 20 a, the inner side surface 20 b, and/or the inner top surface of the shoe 20, it is possible to provide the shoe 20 which is easy to put on and which suitably prevents blisters or other inflammations caused by rubbing.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a shoe insole 30 as a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a non-sliding cushioning member 11 and a readily slidable net body 12 are arranged in combination on an upper surface 30 a of the insole 30. The configurations of the cushioning member 11 and the readily slidable net body 12 are identical to those described above in conjunction with the sock 10. The inner bottom surface 10 a of the sock 10 corresponds to the upper surface 30 a of the insole 30.

By arranging the combination of the non-sliding cushioning member 11 and the readily slidable net body 12 on the upper surface 30 a of the insole 30, it is possible to provide the shoe insole 30 which, when laid in the shoe, makes it easy to put on the shoe and suitably prevents blisters or other inflammations caused by rubbing.

In addition, the present invention is also applicable to a glove, although not shown in the figure. In this case, the combination of a non-sliding cushioning member 11 and a readily slidable net body 12 may be applied to the glove at the portion to be in surface contact with the palm of the hand, and may also be applied to the portion to be in surface contact with the side of the hand and/or the portion to be in surface contact with the back of the hand. The configurations of the non-sliding cushioning member 11 and the readily slidable net body 12 may be applied to the glove in a similar manner as described above in conjunction with the sock 10.

DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE CHARACTERS

-   -   10 sock     -   10 a inner bottom surface     -   10 b inner side surface     -   10 c inner top surface     -   11 non-sliding cushioning member     -   12 readily slidable net body     -   12 a net yarn     -   12 b opening     -   12 c crossing point     -   12 d stitching     -   20 shoe     -   20 a inner bottom surface     -   20 b inner side surface     -   30 insole     -   30 a upper surface     -   F foot 

1. Wear, such as footwear including a shoe, shoe insole, slipper, and sandal, a sock, a glove and the like, having a portion to be in surface contact with a surface of a foot or a hand, wherein a part or whole of the surface to be in contact with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand is covered with a cushioning member made of non-sliding rubber or plastic, and a part or whole of a surface of the non-sliding cushioning member is further covered with a readily slidable net body in such a way as to constitute a mesh structure.
 2. The wear according to claim 1, wherein not only the portion to be in contact with the sole of the foot or the palm of the hand, a part or whole of an entire surface of the wear to be in contact with the foot or the hand is covered with a cushioning member made of non-sliding rubber or plastic, and a part or whole of a surface of the non-sliding cushioning member is further covered with a readily slidable net body in such a way as to constitute a mesh structure.
 3. The wear according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the non-sliding cushioning member is made of open-cell type foamed rubber or foamed plastic.
 4. The wear according to claim 2, wherein the non-sliding cushioning member is made of open-cell type foamed rubber or foamed plastic. 